That’s one of the questions being investigated by newly formed Specular Studio, comprising artist James George, director of photography Alexander Porter, and producer Mei-Ling Wong. Drawing on their previous research and collaborations, the collective fuses their background in film and photography with expertise in computer vision and interaction design to develop expressive and immersive experiences and storytelling technologies.

Their new website includes commissions that demonstrate the scope and breadth of their work, including interactive installations, computational photography, and virtual reality. Through a focus on speculative research into new technologies, the studio anticipates how some of the newest, most cutting-edge tools will be integrated into multimedia experiences, and eventually, more mainstream media practices.

Curio Aquarium is “a cabinet of curiosities celebrating the creativity of making mistakes on purpose.” Commissioned by Microsoft Research, this interactive installation was featured at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women and drew some of its inspiration from some of the mythology about Hopper’s experience with an actual “bug” in the system:

“When the renowned computer scientist Grace Hopper discovered that a moth stuck in the relays had caused her mainframe computer to go on the fritz, she joked it was the first instance of an actual bug in the system. Bugs, glitches, and crashes are an everyday nuisance in the life of a software developer, but surprises can also result in unexpected breakthroughs.”

Stay tuned for more updates on their upcoming projects, including an exciting collaboration with the world-reknown experience design studio Tellart.